Market at fresh closing highs! Nifty settles near 19,750, Sensex adds 205 pts; Infy rises 4%, Angel One & CCL drop 8%

Domestic benchmark indices settled at fresh closing highs on Tuesday. However, broader markets saw some profit booking. Global inflows and upbeat India Inc earnings are driving the markets higher. For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex gained more than 205.21 points, or 0.31 per cent, to end the session at 66,795.14, while NSE's Nifty50 rose 37.80 points, or 0.19 per cent, to close at 19,749.25. However, broader markets, BSE midcap and smallcap indices, settled lower. Fear gauge India VIX spiked more than 3 per cent to close at 11.71-level. Market is flush with FII inflows, which is the major driving force behind the rally in benchmark indices. While the market may be in an overbought zone, the undertone remains bullish due to India's strong economic performance and hopes that the US rate hike cycle could be nearing the end on the back of moderating inflation, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities. "Technically, intraday correction formation is indicating that a range bound activity is likely to continue For Nifty, 19,700 could be the key support level for day traders, below which a quick intraday correction till 19,650-19,600 is seen. On the flip side, as long as the index is trading above 19700, the uptrend wave is likely to continue and could rally till 19,825-19,875," he said. A majority of the sectoral indices settled lower. The Nifty media index dropped about 2 per cent, while the Nifty PSU Bank index fell over a per cent. Nifty realty and metal indices were the other key laggards for the day, declining about a per cent each. Among the gainers, the Nifty IT index rose over a per cent, while Nifty private bank and oil & gas indices also managed to post some gains. In the Nifty50 pack, Infosys topped among the gainers and surged 4 per cent for the day, while Asian Paints surged about 2 per cent for the day. HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra and Tata Consumer Products added about a per cent each. Among the losers, LTI MindTree plunged about 3 per cent, followed by a 2 per cent fall in HDFC Life Insurance Company. State Bank of India, Britannia Industries, Titan Company, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Apollo Hospital Enterprises shed over a per cent each. Sensex and Nifty continued their record-breaking rally on Tuesday, reaching new all-time high levels, amid fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in banking counters, said Vikram Kasat- Head Advisory at Prabhudas Lilladher. "A positive trend in the US markets yesterday also contributed to the domestic benchmark indices optimism. The global market construct continues to be favourable for the bulls. Healthy consolidation can be the near-term trend," he added. A total of 3,548 shares were traded on BSE on Tuesday, of which 2,011 settled with cuts. 1,413 stocks ended the session with gains while 124 shares remained unchanged. A total of 108 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 116 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. Among the broader markets, CCL Products India drooped more than 8 per cent, followed by Angel One, which posted similar cuts. Pix Transmission, Moschip Technologies and Huhtamaki India declined 7 per cent each for the day. Amara Raja Batteries and Happiest Mind Technologies ended 6 per cent down each. Among the gainers, Mishtann Foods surged 19 per cent, while Ganesh Housing Corporation gained 14 per cent. Datamatics Global Services rose 12 per cent, while Dreamfolks Services settled 11 per cent higher. SMS Pharmaceuticals and Ugro Capital ended up 9 per cent, each.

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